United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 32.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 766,598 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 187,210 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in United Community Banks were worth $24,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 196.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. First Horizon Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UCB has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Stephens upped their price objective on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Hovde Group decreased their target price on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on United Community Banks from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, United Community Banks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.40.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

NYSE:UCB opened at $36.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $34.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.65 and a 12 month high of $37.18.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The company had revenue of $278.26 million during the quarter. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 22.05%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.09, for a total transaction of $49,965.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 84,497 shares in the company, valued at $2,796,005.73. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

About United Community Banks

United Community Banks, Inc (NYSE: UCB) is a bank holding company headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. It operates primarily through its subsidiary, United Community Bank, providing a broad range of banking and financial services to individual, business and governmental customers. The company’s core offerings include deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, treasury and cash management services, and wealth management.

In addition to traditional banking products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, United Community Bank specializes in commercial real estate financing, small business administration (SBA) loans, equipment financing and agricultural lending.